Implement for digging, transplanting plants, and pulling weeds.



P. L. WHITNEY. v v IMPLEMENT FOR DIGGING, TRANSPLANTING PLANTS, ANDPULLING WEEDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1909.

Patented Dec. 28,1909.

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ANDREW. & Guam 00,. PNOTO-LITHOGRAMER FRANK I1. WHITNEY, OF LINCOLN,NEBRASKA.

IMPLEMENT FOR DIGGING, TRANSPLANTING PLANTS, AND PULLING WEEDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1909.

Application filed May 29, 1909. Serial No. 499,120.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. WHITNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lincoln, in the county of Lancaster and State of Nebraska,have invented an Improved Implement for Digging, Transplant ing Plants,and Pulling feeds, of which the following is a specificationsufficiently clear to enable those skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is :to produce an improved implement fordigging, transplanting plants and pulling weeds, which is comparativelyinexpensive, simple in construction, convenient to operate, durable andpositive in action and adapted to work in all kinds of soil either insod or in cultivated ground and by which the smallest and most delicateplants may be rapidly transplanted without injury, or handling. Thesepurposes I attain in my invention by certain novel combinations ofmaterials, parts and construction which will be hereinafter describedand claimed.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form apart of this specification and in which drawings similar characters ofreference refer to similar parts in the several views.

Figure 1, represents a vertical side view of my implement. Fig. 2,represents an interchangeable, weed ejector, plan view. Fig. 3,represents a plan view of hoe on handle of my implement. Fig. 1,represents a malleable cast head for holding the digging blades, showingcross-sectional view. ig. 5, shows an end view, of bushing and tubularform of constructing the digging portion of my implement in the formshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 6, shows a vertical, side view of the diggingportion of my implement constructed with the blades riveted on themalleable cast head. Fig. 7 shows a vertical, side view of mytransplanting ejector.

' Fig. 8, shows a vertical side view, showing the narrow side of diggingblade with point beveled inwardly. Fig. 9, shows a vertical view of thenarrow side of blade with threefourths of point beveled inwardly. Fig.10, shows a vertical View of the narrow side of digging blade with edgebeveled outwardly.

I make this implement, preferably, as follows The digging portion I makein two forms, a as shown in Fig. 1, consisting of a tubular piece ofsteel which I slit from the bottom, longitudinally, so as to form theblades and leave the top or head portion thereof intact. I thread theinside of the top, or head portion, a in Fig. 5, to receive and matewith corresponding threads of a bushing, or reducer, a Fig. 5, whichbushing or reducer I provide with a threaded, central longitudinal,opening adapted to receive and mate with threads on the outer side ofthe end of a tubular section, cl I make my digging portion also in asecond form as shown in Fig. 6, in which I make the top or head portionof a malleable cast head, a of which I show a vertical cross section inFig. 4:, which head I provide with projecting bosses, a adapted to beused in riveting the blades, Z) thereon. For this form I make each bladeseparate, providing rivet holes in the upper end of each blade throughwhich it is solidly riveted to the malleable cast head as shown in Fig.6,'with the blades in substantially the same relative position as shownin Fig. 1, and the digging parts of said blades practically of the sameform. make the blades with their cutting edges beveled so as to adaptthem to different kinds of soil and work. The bevel shown in Figs. 1, 6,and 9 is adapted for digging, transplanting and weed pulling in ordinarysoils. The bevel shown in Fig. 8 especially adapts same to pullingweeds, such as dandelions, from heavy clay and gumbo soils, while thebevel shown in Fig. 10 is adapted especially for the transplanting ofplants from cultivated ground with the slightest disturbance of theroots, equipping interchangeable diggers with the bevel desired. Ithread the central opening in the malleable cast head, Fig. 4, to matewith and receive the threads on theend of tubular rod d I connect thedigger portion with the handle, f by means of the tubular rod, cl whichI show, broken, in Fig. '1, by means of threads on the outer end of saidrod mating with threads on the inner side of the T shaped portion of thehandle f I make the handle portion of my implement of tubular metalhaving a T shaped end, one end of which T is threaded inside to receivethe tubular rod, d I make the other end of the handle portion, f in theform of a narrow hoe blade, f as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 for uncoveringthe weeds, so

as to locate the roots and for use in transplanting, digging places. forplantsto. be

transplanted, and forfilling in rows from which plants have beenremoved, etc.

I make my ejector in two interchangeable forms, as. shown in Figs. 1 and2, where the weed form is shown in the shape of a circular disk having acentral, threaded opening adapted to receive the threaded end of the rode and guide projections, c adapt ed to slide in the slots between thedigging blades as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The second form, theinterchangeable, transplanting ejector, as shown in Fig. 7, I make withits upper plan View the same as shown in Fig. 2 of the weed eject-or,however I make same with downward continuing arms, a Fig. 7, adapted toslide in the slots between the digging blades,'forming the ends of saidarms, c into the inwardly turned projections, 0 so as to leave openingbetween same to prevent bruising the plant.

I make an ejector rod 6 adapted to screw into the central opening in theweed, and the plant ejector, respectively, the said rod e passinglongitudinally through the tubular rod d and projecting through the Tshaped section of the handle f and above same sufliciently to allowample and free downward motion of the'ejector in the digging section ofthe implement. I make the top of the ejector rod preferably of metalcast thereon in the form as shown in g Fig. 1, consisting of a flatcircular top, having a central downward projection with a shallowcircular recess around the plunger rod to receive the end of the springit and having the outer portion of the central downward projectionthreaded to mate with and screw into the upper portion of the T shapedpart of the handle, f I make an ejector rod spring h spiral in form andadapted to encircle the upper end of the rod e one end of said springbeing seated on the end of the tubular roc (Z and the other end of thespring being seated inside the shallow circular recess provided thereforin the downward central projection of the To use my implement as adigger I use same as equipped in Fig. 1. By pressing down on the handlef I drive the blades a into the soil until they are filled, pull thedigger out and discharge the core of soil from between the blades bymeans of the ejector c which I operate by pressing down on the top, gthe spiral spring h returning the ejector and its connecting rod to theposition shown in Fig. ,1. After ejecting the core from the blades, Icontinue the process to the depth desired. To pull weeds I place thedigger around the root, press down the handle driving the blades a downaround the root, withdraw the digger and in ordinary soils often pull aconsider able length of the tap root of such weeds as dandelions frombelow the. point reached by the blades. For pulling weeds in heavy clayand gumbo soils I preferably interchange the form of digger shown inFig. 1, for a digger having blades beveled as shown in blade b in Fig.8, by first unscrewing the weed ejector by turning the top, 9 thenunscrewing the digger portion from the tubular rot (Z and screwingthereon the interchangeable digger having blades beveled as shown inFig. 8, then screwing the weed ejector on the end of the connecting rode and using the same as before. For transplanting plants wlth the formof beveled blades shown in Fig. 1, I remove the weed ejector shown inFig. 1 and insert instead the transplanting ejector shown in Fig. 7,press the digger gently down around the plant to be transplanted,allowing the top of the plant to project upward between the inwardlyprojecting ends, 0 of the transplanting ejector and lift the plant outplacing it in the place and position desired where I gently seat same inthe new position by pressing downward on the top, g here preferred, inmoving delicate plants in soft soils I substitute an interchangeabledigger having beveled blades as shown in Fig. 10, using therewith thetransplanting ejector, Fig.

I make my diggers with a plurality of blades, four preferred, thoughmore or less may be used as desired, adapting the ejectors to the numberof blades to be used' I use the narrow hoe blade f on the handle 7 tofill in the soil from where plants have been removed, to prepare placesto receive the plants to be transplanted, and to uncover and'show thelocation of the roots of weeds to be pulled and similar use for whichsame is convenient. In using said hoe, I press the top, g 1 down andwith a turn fasten same by its screw portion into the upper part of theT end of the handle f so that it is entirely out of the way and protectsthe spiral spring from the soil and dirt.

I do not limit the uses of my implement to those herein stated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

In an implement of the type described, a digging section, said diggingsection being composed of a cylindrically shaped, malleable cast headand a plurality of longitudinal steel blades riveted at their upper endsto, and positioned around the malleable head leaving uniform slotsbetween the lower portions of the said blades, adapted to slidablyengage ejector guides, the lower end of each blade being uniformlysharpened with an outward and an inward bevel, the central opening inthe malleable cast head being threaded inside, a tubular metal section,said section being threaded on the outside at its ends to mate with andscrew into the tubular metal section and a handle section respectively,a handle, said handle being formed of tubular metal in the shape of alazy letter T one of the shorter ends thereof being provided inside withthreads to mate with and screw 011 to the end of the tubular metalsection, an ejecting device, said device consisting of a circular pieceof metal having projecting guide portions adapted to slidably engage theslots between the blades and being provided with a trans verse,threaded, central opening, an ejector rod, said rod being adapted tofreely slide in the tubular section and in the handle and diggingsection and to operate the ejector, the lower end of said rod beingthreaded to mate with and screw into the ejector, the

upper end of said rod terminating in a circular metal top cast integraltherewith, the under portion of the metal top being provided with ashallow groove around the rod to receive the spiral spring and a spiralspring, said spring being adapted to encircle the upper portion of theejector rod and having its upper end seated in grooved top preparedtherefor and its lower end seated upon the upper end of the tubularmetal section within the T part of the handle.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK L. \VHITNEY.

WVitnesses J. B. STRoDE, E. C. STRODE.

